This invention relates to identification bracelets or bands which are widely used in a variety of applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to bracelets or bands with tickets.
Identification bracelets are commonly utilized in crowd control contexts such as amusement parks, ski lifts, and rock concerts. They are applied to the wrists of the persons visiting the amusement park, utilizing the ski lift, or attending the concert in order to identify the customer and prevent various abuses which arise where large numbers of individuals congregate.
Identification bracelets have also been used in hospital or medical clinics. Initially, such wristbands were confined to providing the bare minimum of the patient's name and, possibly, of the patient's illness. In crowd control situations, the wristband was utilized to indicate the admissibility of the individual wearing the band and, frequently, the duration, by color indication, of the attendance period of the person wearing the wristband. For instance, the bracelet for a concert can incorporate visually perceptible information regarding seat assignments; for amusement parks, the number of rides to which the individual is entitled; and, for ski lifts, the numbers of lifts and the numbers of rides to which the individual is entitled
Various types of prior art bracelets have been utilized in the above-mentioned situations, including bracelets fabricated from plastic sheet materials such as vinyl and various forms of plastic reinforced papers wherein the cellulosic content of the papers is bonded and strengthened by the plastic binder.
Some prior art bracelets include electronic information receptor means, such as magnetic strips or the like, and the information is imparted to the magnetic strip by corresponding electronic information conveyors. Additional or alternative information regarding the extension of credit or spending limit available to an individual may be incorporated in the information imparted to the bracelet. Other bracelets incorporate bar coding as a method of conveying information regarding the individual and the extent of his purchases. A bar code reader may be used to ‘read’ the bracelet and pull up information regarding the wearer of the bracelet from a main database containing information about the wearer of the bracelet such as name, room number, duration of stay, extension of credit or spending limit available.
Labels have been used in conjunction with wristbands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,916 discloses an identification system that provides labels in a rectangular dispenser located on top of a wristband. However, the receptacle renders the wristband an unwieldy device that would have to be uncomfortable for the wearer, bulky and inconvenient. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,383 discloses a recipient identification band, labels and a sample tube for use in handling blood procedures. However, the identification system is limited in its use and comes in several pieces which provides inconvenience and discomfort to the wearer of the band, who must deal with this extended tail of labels until such time as the tear-offs are used or otherwise disposed of, the tear-offs being prone to ripping across the succeeding label.
Accordingly, there is a need for an identification band with associated tickets that are available for a variety of uses. There is a further need for an identification band that is formed as a single-piece with the tickets. There is also a need for an identification band that stores tickets in a compact manner pending use. There is an additional need for an identification band with detachable tickets that can be used for promotional purposes. There is a further need for an identification band with detachable tickets that can be used for tracking purposes. There is also a need for an identification band with detachable tickets that can be used for cross-identification of objects. There is an additional need for an identification band with detachable tickets that can be used for matching an article with its owner. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.